Where There Is No Synagogue

2009-01-23

It is amazing to see the technological advances that have happened in the past century. Even after saying that, it is amazing to see what has happened over the past decade. Globalization has touched nearly every area of the earth so that the vastness of the world seems somehow reduced to a neighborhood of nations. Cellular phones and email keep us in touch with our family and friends regardless of whether they live in the next town or the next continent. However, there are still parts of the world that are still isolated from the larger world neighborhood. How can the Gospel get to people in the remote parts of the world?

The rationale behind going to the uttermost part of the earth with the Gospel can be found in the final words of Jesus Christ before he left to be with the Father in Acts 1:8: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

In the subsequent chapters of Luke’s history of the early church, we see how the Holy Spirit moves the early church in this task. There are three types of people mentioned in Jesus’ command: pure Jews, Samaritan half-breeds, and complete Gentiles. Jews and Samaritans are familiar with the God of the Bible, who is the almighty Creator intimately involved with his creation, and the redeemer of humankind. Though the Samaritans had a lot of religious syncretism in their lives, such as Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8, at least they had the right God, Jehovah, and were knowledgeable about the Law.

Gentiles, on the other hand, did not necessarily know anything about the real God of the Bible. Nonetheless, there were many that were familiar with Jehovah, which were called God-fearers. Cornelius was an example of these in Acts 10-11. They were not insiders, meaning they did not get circumcised and become proselytes, but they had become followers of the Most High God because of the synagogue.

The phenomenon of the synagogue served as a pre-evangelism tool. Synagogues had long been spread out because of the Diaspora, and were found in Asia Minor and Eastern Europe where much of Acts takes place. Many non-Jews worshipped God without becoming a part of the Jewish community. The Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, also gave the Greek speakers an opportunity to have the Bible in their own language.

With the salvation of Cornelius and his household, the setting of Acts begins to change: Many non-Jews believed the Gospel in Antioch, an area of Syria, which is outside of Judah and Samaria. In such places, the standard plan of Paul was to first go to the synagogue, since this religious center is where the worshippers of the Creator God, both Jew and Gentile, met every Sabbath. We see this in Cyprus (Acts 13:5), Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:14), Iconium (Acts 14:1), Philippi (Acts 16:13, there was not enough men to have a synagogue, so they went to where people gathered for prayer to the God of the Bible), Thessalonica (Acts 17:1), Berea (Acts 17:10), Athens (Acts 17:17), Corinth (Acts 18:4), and Ephesus (Acts 18:19).

In these places, there was already knowledge about the Hebrew Bible... what happens when there is no former testimony of the living God? There are two examples where Paul was forced into a situation where he preached Christ to people who did not have the foundation of the Old Testament.

The first example was in Lystra, where a healing of a crippled man took place... a man who had never walked before. When word got out about this, people began to say in the Lycaonian language, “The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men” (Acts 14:11). With no frame of reference of the God of the Bible, and through the lens of their own worldview, they saw the workings of their own gods, Jupiter and Mercury. When the priest of Jupiter started bringing out sacrifices, Paul and Barnabas figured out what was going on, and tried to stop them by explaining to them who God was. Their explanation was ineffective because of the language and culture barrier. Interestingly enough, the Jews were able to convince the masses to stone them later!

The second example was in Athens. As Paul was accustomed to doing, he began talking with those in the synagogues, both Jew and Gentile, but when Greek philosophers heard about him, they brought him to the Areopagus to hear his teaching (Acts 17:19). Paul did what he could: he started with their experience, by referencing an altar with the inscription: “To The Unknown God” (Acts 17:23). This God that is unknown to them is the creator God (Acts 17:24) who is the giver of life to all creatures (Acts 17:25). So, he quotes a Greek poet to confirm that humankind is God’s offspring, that people are created in his image, demonstrating God’s personality and intelligence. The stumbling for the listeners came with the resurrection of the dead, which is contrary to Greek philosophy. A few people believed, but most listeners mocked Paul when they heard this.

In many of tribal groups around the world today, there is no concept of a personal creator God. In most cultures, the Creator God is an aloof being and largely unknown; local gods and spirits are the ones that are involved with daily affairs. There is no synagogue to pave the way for the Gospel. They are like those pagans both in Lystra and Athens. What do we do?

Relationships are at the center of evangelism when reaching these remote peoples of the world. On the foundation of strong relationships, church planters have earned the tribal people’s respect and trust. In addition, church planters need great cultural insight and language ability to be able to communicate at a deep level. What happens when we cannot this? We will get the response of the Athenians in Acts 17:18: “And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods.”

The Bible should also taught chronologically because, unlike Paul and Barnabas, no synagogue has paved the way to teach the people about the Jehovah, the living God. The synagogue had brought the Old Testament to many places around the world, which allowed for some context for clear preaching of the Gospel. However, these remote places do not have that. The teaching begins with the Creation Hymn in Genesis 1, and subsequent key parts of the Old Testament narratives are taught before teaching about Jesus to introduce the Creator God, the fall of humankind, and the need for a Savior.

Years are spent in learning the language and culture of the tribal people so that the church planters can communicate the Gospel clearly and that the listeners will be able to understand. As we have seen, Paul presented the Gospel to the Athenians in the most culturally appropriate way as he could (considering he was put on the spot). When Paul and Barnabas tried to speak to people in Lystra, there was great confusion since it was not in the Lycaonian language. Though the people understood the lingua franca of the day, the local language, Lycaonian, was the heart language that the people of Lystra understood best. Likewise, in Papua New Guinea, though the national language Tok Pisin is understood in daily communication in any of the given 800+ language groups, it cannot be used to communicate to anyone on a deep level. Mastery of the tribal language is always needed to communicate truth.

When a church is born, the goal is for the church to stand on its own without the interference of outsiders. A church plant does not end in evangelism, but in a mature church. The newborn church, therefore, needs two things: a Bible in their language, and discipleship.

It is imperative for the tribal people to read the Bible in their own language. First, since many languages are unwritten, the church planter must develop an alphabet for the language in order for it to be written. Then, literacy must be taught to the people. Literacy is important because tribal people need to be able to read so they do not need to rely on a third party to explain God’s Word to them.

It is imperative that the tribal people have at least the entire New Testament and some Old Testament material in their heart language. If we really believe that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” then we must not deny people the way they can grow in their relationship with God. Ideally, it is best for the people to have the entire Bible in their language.

It is also necessary to come along side the new believers and walk with them as they uncover their new identity in Jesus Christ and raise up new leaders to shepherd the people. Potential leaders need to be guided in how to lead and teach others, and how to deal with sin with the goal of restoration in mind.

A church planting team that leaves a church without the Bible in their language and proper discipleship is like parents leaving an infant to fend for itself. Planting a church on a firm foundation is important so that it will function on its own and continue for many years to come.

We also cannot forget the bigger picture. With a Bible translation in their hands, and being grounded in the truths that it teaches, they will be able to reach the people around them: surrounding villages that speak the same language, a different dialect of the same language, and even those who are around them with related languages. They too will become a sending church of church planters to reach the world with the Gospel.